The decomposed bodies of an elderly couple, who were brutally murdered at their residence in J.P. Nagar 1st Phase, were found on Friday morning.
The deceased couple, Venkateshaiah (76) and Swarnamba (68), were smothered and their throats were slit with a knife, said a senior police officer. The incident occurred at their ground floor residence on 10th B Cross in J.P. Nagar.
The couple had been living on the premises for over three decades after they moved into the locality in 1978. Venkateshaiah, who was working as a first division service clerk in the Education Department, retired in 1994.
Police suspect that the murder may have occurred on Monday afternoon as the newspaper delivered on that day was inside the house while newspapers delivered thereafter were found outside the door. The couple, who did not have any children, had rented out the portion upstairs to a bachelor, and another portion on the ground floor to another elderly couple. The miscreants had ransacked the bedroom before leaving the premises and almirahs were left open and some valuables were suspected to be missing. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Sonia Narang said the police are yet to ascertain the items stolen, but said that the jewellery on the woman’s body was missing. However, cash worth Rs. 4,000 was found in the residence, she added.
A senior police official said the kitchen had been disturbed, and that lunch had been prepared but remained uneaten, which indicated that the murder occurred around lunchtime. There were signs of struggle in the kitchen, said a senior police official. The incident came to light only on Friday morning after the cook hired by the couple found something amiss and called Swarnamba’s sister Lalitha, a resident of Channasandra near Uttarahalli. The cook had been knocking on the door since Tuesday as no one was answering the doorbell. She first thought the couple had gone out. It was the neighbours who broke open the door and informed the police.
“I had last spoken to Swarnamba on Monday, when she told me that people were coming to the house to clean the sump. When subsequent telephone calls went unanswered, I thought that the line must have gone dead,” Ms. Lalitha told The Hindu ,
Joint Commissioner of Police (West) Pronab Mohanty said the miscreants may have entered the house through the front door, as it was found locked from the inside. They had left the house from the rear, bolting the rear door, he said. Both the tenants said they did not find anything mysterious as the couple usually kept to themselves.
